Tune Ups?
- GCoyote
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Tune Ups?
What are some common problems with inexpensive mounts and what can I reasonably do to fix them?
What do you do to increase stability?
What do you do to reduce the play in the mount?
Are there screws or knobs I should not replace with hardware store grade parts?
The weather is turning crappy(er) and my wife has some travel coming up so it's a good time to get out the tools and turn some screws before the clear winter skies I'm hoping for arrive.
Gary C
Celestron Astro Master 130mm f5 Newtonian GEM
Meade 114-EQ-DH f7.9 Newtonian w/ manual GEM
Bushnell 90mm f13.9 Catadioptric
Gskyer 80mm f5 Alt/Az refractor
Jason 10x50 Binoculars
Celestron 7x50 Binoculars
Svbony 2.1x42 Binoculars
(And a bunch of stuff I'm still trying to fix or find parts for.)
- pakarinen
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Re: Tune Ups?
In general though, I think adding / replacing bearings can help. Maybe add shims where / if needed. Replace the factory goo with a good lube.
Man... That's some icky-tasting stuff!
=============================================================================
AT50, AT72EDII, ST80, ST102; Scopetech Zero, AZ-GTi, AZ Pronto; Innorel RT90C, Oberwerk 5000; Orion Giantview 15x70s, Vortex 8x42s, Navy surplus 7x50s, Nikon 10x50s
- Lady Fraktor
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Re: Tune Ups?
For mounts I replace the soft, poorly machined and plated hardware with stainless steel.
Checking tolerances to help stabilize the mount you can use PTFE sheets to fill any gaps to get rid of the wobble in them.
Taking the mount apart and smoothing out any rough contact ares helps as well.
The only culture I have is from yogurt
- helicon Online
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Re: Tune Ups?
Refractors: ES AR152 f/6.5 Achromat on Twilight II, Celestron 102mm XLT f/9.8 on Celestron Heavy Duty Alt Az mount, KOWA 90mm spotting scope
Binoculars: Celestron SkyMaster 15x70, Bushnell 10x50
Eyepieces: Various, GSO Superview, 9mm Plossl, Celestron 25mm Plossl
Camera: ZWO ASI 120
Naked Eye: Two Eyeballs
Latitude: 48.7229° N
- GCoyote
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Re: Tune Ups?
Gary C
Celestron Astro Master 130mm f5 Newtonian GEM
Meade 114-EQ-DH f7.9 Newtonian w/ manual GEM
Bushnell 90mm f13.9 Catadioptric
Gskyer 80mm f5 Alt/Az refractor
Jason 10x50 Binoculars
Celestron 7x50 Binoculars
Svbony 2.1x42 Binoculars
(And a bunch of stuff I'm still trying to fix or find parts for.)
- gregl
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Re: Tune Ups?
For any setscrews or knobs that use the end of the threaded screw to seat against a part to be secured, check the end of the screw and round it off if needed. Frequently the screws have a burr or ridge around the end of the thread that will dig into the part it is supposed to secure. Sometimes putting a bit of brass, copper wire or plastic in the hole first is a better option.
The screw on the left has a burr around the end of the thread. The one on the right has been smoothed down on the belt sander.
The locking mechanisms on tripod legs always give me pause. Some just don't inspire confidence, and I have had visions of a scope taking a tumble when a leg telescopes down accidentally. For those, I have used shaft collars (from an industrial supply such as McMaster Carr) or bicycle seat clamps secured to the smaller leg and set up against the larger one. Below are a couple of pix of some bike seat clamps on the legs of an old Celestron tripod. The bike clamps have a ridge on the i.d. that needs to be machined or filed off so they'll seat against the leg tube. Shaft collars don't have that but then you'll need an Allen wrench to tighten them. Although you could swap out one of the Allen screws for a T-knob.
A bike seat clamp on the leg of an old Celestron tripod:
Shaft collar, avail. at industrial supply sources:
- GCoyote
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Re: Tune Ups?
Gary C
Celestron Astro Master 130mm f5 Newtonian GEM
Meade 114-EQ-DH f7.9 Newtonian w/ manual GEM
Bushnell 90mm f13.9 Catadioptric
Gskyer 80mm f5 Alt/Az refractor
Jason 10x50 Binoculars
Celestron 7x50 Binoculars
Svbony 2.1x42 Binoculars
(And a bunch of stuff I'm still trying to fix or find parts for.)
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